by Bobby Chintapalli, TW Contributing Editor
Like any serious tennis nerd I devoured the Australian Open draw as soon as it was released, checking who Justine Henin will face in the first round (Kirsten Flipkens), how early the Williams sisters could meet (semifinals) and, yes, how rosy things look for Elena Dementieva (not very, as she could play Henin in the second round). Once I imagined wow-factor matches that could happen, I considered now-factor matches, the 64 first-round matches that would happen. A dozen or so look especially promising, and I listed a few grouped by the half of the draw into which they fall.
The Williams Half
- Summary: The Williams sisters & the three youngest Top 10 players
- Grand Slam singles winners or Number 1s: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic
Caroline Wozniacki 4
They have similar-sounding last names, are of Polish descent and were quite chummy watching sumo wrestling together in Tokyo last year. Cute, right? Probably not if you’re Aleksandra Wozniak and on the losing end of a head-to-head record with the WTA’s homecoming queen, a player you’ve lost to five times on three surfaces in one year. We love the name bit, but Wozniak might prefer to face a player with a longer last name (Amanmuradova), a shorter last name (Li) or any last name that doesn’t belong to the Number 4 player in the world… again. Their last few full matches have gone three sets though, and hopefully Wozniak will be eager to step up against the great Dane on the big stage and make this an even closer match.
Francesca Schiavone [17] vs Alize Cornet (H2H: 3-1)
Schiavone is 10 years older and 29 rankings spots higher than the teenage Cornet, but we know Cornet has game. She was a highly-touted teen in 2008, when she ended the year ranked Number 18 (Schiavone was ranked Number 30). While Schiavone’s form rose last year, Cornet’s dipped. But maybe things are looking up again. Earlier this month in Auckland, Cornet lost to Schiavone but not before beating Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1. Let’s hope Cornet brings more of the tennis that earned her two match points against Dinara Safina in the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open and less of the tennis that lost her that match (and brought on the waterworks).
Other Promising Matches
Venus Williams [6] vs Lucie Safarova
Serena Williams [1] vs Urszula Radwanska
Melanie Oudin vs Alla Kudryavtseva
The Belgian Half
- Summary: The Belgians & the big-name Russians (except Vera Zvonareva)
- Grand Slam singles winners or Number 1s: Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic
Justine Henin vs Kirsten Flipkens (first tournament meeting)
I feel for Kirsten Flipkens. She drew the shortest of 128 sticks. Have you heard what everyone’s saying about her? No? Exactly my point. Of the four Belgian women in the tournament, she’s the only one we’re not talking about until we’re hoarse. As if that’s not enough, she’s now slated to play the Belgian – no, the player – we’re talking about the most. While Henin and Flipkens haven’t faced off at a tournament, they did play an exhibition match earlier this year. Henin won that match, and her first match here would have made this list no matter who she played. !Kleybs-dokic
Alisa Kleybanova 27
The only time these two played was in the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open in what’s considered one of the best matches of last year. This year we get the matchup three rounds earlier. Dokic, who was just returning to the game last year, isn’t likely to get as much attention this year. If we’re lucky, though, the quality of play between these two hard-hitters will be just as high and the match just as memorable.
Maria Sharapova [14] vs Maria Kirilenko (H2H: 2-1)
Something tells me Maria Kirilenko and her boyfriend, Igor Andreev, had a nice, long chat after the draw came out. Andreev will play Nike golden guy Roger Federer in the first round, while Kirilenko will play Nike golden gal Maria Sharapova. This may not be the first-round match of Kirilenko’s dreams, but it shouldn’t be a nightmare either. While they haven’t played in almost four years, their previous matches were close. Of course I also included this match, because we’re talking after all about Sharapova, who writer Doug Robson described as “a one-person fiscal stimulus package”. She played exhibitions this month but no warm-up tournaments, and this match, which will be the first on Rod Laver Arena the first day of the tournament, will be the first chance for many of us to check her out (hey now, I’m talking about her shoulder, serve and tennis).
Other Promising Matches
Flavia Pennetta [12] vs Anna Chakvetadze
Aravene Rezai [26] vs Sania Mirza
Jie Zheng vs Shuai Peng
Yanina Wickmayer vs Alexandra Dulgheru
Elena Dementieva [5] vs Vera Dushevina
Dinara Safina [2] vs Magdalena Rybarikova